Paper post-processing apparatus and paper post-processing method

ABSTRACT

A post-processing apparatus comprises a first processing tray on which fed paper is placed; a paper binding section configured to bind a plurality of sheets of paper stacked on the first processing tray into one bundle; a second processing tray which a plurality of paper bundles bound on the first processing tray are sequentially conveyed to and placed on; a paper bundle gluing section configured to coat glue at a given position of the top surface of a first paper bundle placed on the second processing tray before a second paper bundle is placed on the first paper bundle; a pressing section configured to press and bind the first paper bundle with the second paper bundle between which glue is coated; and a control section configured to control the timing for conveying the second paper bundle onto the first paper bundle after the glue is coated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 14/597,369filed on Jan. 15, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a post-processingtechnology for binding a plurality of sheets of printed paper.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, a post-processing apparatus connected with an imageforming apparatus is provided with a binding section which binds aplurality of sheets printed paper into a bundle. As to the bindingmethod in the binding section, a needle binding method and a gluingmethod are proposed.

The needle-binding type binding section arranged in the post-processingapparatus pierces a plurality of sheets of paper stacked on a processingtray with staples to bind the plurality of sheets of paper. When printedpaper is stacked on the processing tray, the gluing-binding type bindingsection pastes glue to a given position of the paper and then placesnext printed paper on the paper.

In the needle-binding type binding section, the number of paper that canbe bound at one time is limited according to the length of the usedstaple needle. Generally, as to the space above the processing tray, therear side (opposite to the sheet discharge side) of the processing traywhere the staple binding section is arranged is narrower than the frontside (sheet discharge side) of the processing tray. Further, the paperbinding section is generally arranged at the rear side of the processingtray. Thus, the maximum binding number of the binding section islimited.

Incidentally, when the number of paper that is fed from the imageforming apparatus and is to be bound into one bundle is larger than thenumber of paper that can be bound into one bundle by the post-processingapparatus, neither the needle binding processing nor the glue bindingprocessing can be carried out. Thus, it is desired that the paper can bebound into one bundle even if the printing number is larger than thenumber of paper that can be bound at one time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a post-processing apparatusaccording to a first embodiment and a state in which the post-processingapparatus is connected with an image forming apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view illustrating a gluing section shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a first paperbundle subjected to stapling processing shown in FIG. 1 is placed on asecond processing tray;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a second paperbundle is placed on the first paper bundle placed on the secondprocessing tray shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware constitution of thepost-processing apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating post-processing carried out throughthe hardware constitution shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware constitution of apost-processing apparatus according to a second embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating post-processing carried out throughthe hardware constitution shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with one embodiment, a post-processing apparatus comprisesa first processing tray on which fed paper is placed; a paper bindingsection configured to bind a plurality of sheets of paper stacked on thefirst processing tray into one bundle; a second processing tray whichpaper bundles subjected to binding processing on the first processingtray are sequentially conveyed to and placed on; a paper bundle gluingsection configured to carry out gluing processing at a given position ofthe upmost paper of a first paper bundle placed on the second processingtray before a next second paper bundle is placed on the first paperbundle; a pressing section configured to press the first paper bundleand the second paper bundle between which glue is coated to carry outglue binding processing; and a control section configured to control theconveyance timing for conveying the second paper bundle onto the firstpaper bundle after the gluing processing is carried out by the gluingsection.

In accordance with one embodiment, a post-processing method for bindingfed paper includes comparing the total number of fed paper with a presetthreshold value and calculating the number of paper in each of aplurality of divided paper bundles in a range that does not exceed thethreshold value in a case in which the total number of paper is largerthan the threshold value; carrying out binding processing on theplurality of paper bundles based on the calculated number; carrying outgluing processing on the last page of a first paper bundle; placing thefirst page of a second paper bundle on the glue coated part of the lastpage of the first paper bundle; and pressing the first paper bundle andthe second paper bundle between which the glue is coated to carry outglue binding processing.

Hereinafter, the post-processing apparatus according to the presentembodiment is described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

A First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the post-processing apparatusaccording to the first embodiment and a state in which thepost-processing apparatus is connected with an image forming apparatus.FIG. 2 is a schematic front view illustrating a gluing section shown inFIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a state in which a firstpaper bundle subjected to stapling processing shown in FIG. 1 is placedon a second processing tray. FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating astate in which a second paper bundle is placed on the first paper bundleplaced on the second processing tray shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 1-FIG. 4, a post-processing apparatus 1 is connected with animage forming apparatus 100. A controller 101 of the image formingapparatus 100 controls the whole post-processing apparatus 1. Thepost-processing apparatus 1 is controlled by the controller 101 of theimage forming apparatus 100, however, a controller may be arranged inthe post-processing apparatus 1 to control the post-processing apparatus1.

In the image forming apparatus 100, such a case is exemplified in whicha document stacked on, for example, an automatic document feeder (ADF)102 is copied and the printed paper is bound into one bundle through thepost-processing apparatus 1.

A user turns on a post-processing switch (not shown) of an operationsection 103 and turns on a copy switch (not shown). The controller 101drives the ADF 102 if acquiring an ON signal of the copy switch. The ADF102 continuously conveys the stacked documents to a scanner (not shown)to read a document image with the scanner. The document image read bythe scanner is stored in a storage (not shown). Meanwhile, thecontroller 101 counts the number of the documents read by the scannerand records it in a memory. At this time, the counted document number isregarded as a print instruction number (X).

When the start of printing is instructed from the controller 101, aphotoconductive drum 105 is exposed with the image exposure light from,for example, a laser image exposure section 104 to form an electrostaticlatent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed by adeveloping device (not shown) to form a toner image. The toner image onthe photoconductive drum 105 is transferred to a printing paper P at atransfer position where the photoconductive drum 105 is contacted with atransfer roller 106. The toner image transferred to the printing paper Pis heated and pressed by a fixing section 107 to be fixed on theprinting paper P. The printing paper P is conveyed from a paper feedcassette 108 in which a plurality of sheets of paper P are stored via apaper conveyance path 109 to the transfer position.

The printed paper Q subjected to fixing processing is discharged fromthe image forming apparatus 100 via a discharge conveyance path 110 andconveyed to the post-processing apparatus 1 with the printed surfacefacing downwards. In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 carriesout printing sequentially from the first page.

The post-processing apparatus 1 includes a first processing tray 11, asecond processing tray 12, a stapling section 13, a paper bundle gluingsection 14, a paper discharge tray 15 and a paper bundle pressingsection 16 (refer to FIG. 4). Further, the post-processing apparatus 1temporarily feeds the printed paper Q, which is discharged from theimage forming apparatus 100, to an intermediate tray 18 from a paperfeed roller 17. The intermediate tray 18 consists of a pair of separatetrays which face each other along a width direction orthogonal to theconveyance direction of the paper Q, and when the pair of separate traysmoves away from each other in the width direction, the one or theplurality of sheets of paper Q stacked on the intermediate tray 18 dropsdown to the first processing tray 11 arranged below. The one or theplurality of sheets of paper Q may be directly dropped down to the firstprocessing tray 11 from the paper feed roller 17 without beingtemporarily stacked on the intermediate tray 18.

The paper Q fed from the paper feed roller 17 to the intermediate tray18 is detected by a paper sensor 19 serving as a discharged paper numbercounter section, and the number of the fed paper Q is counted. Inaddition, the paper sensor 19 may be arranged on the dischargeconveyance path 110 of the image forming apparatus 1.

A paper placing surface 111 of the first processing tray 11 is arrangedin an inclined manner so that the rear end in the conveyance directionof the stacked paper Q is abutted against and aligned by a first endalignment surface 20 of the stapling section 13. Further, the paper Qdropped down from the intermediate tray 18 is conveyed (moved) towardsthe first end alignment surface (position) 20 by a rotation member (notshown) which is in frictional contact with the upper surface of thepaper Q.

The stapling section 13 carries out needle binding processing at apreset binding position with a staple S when the number of the paper Qstacked on the first processing tray 11 reaches a given number. Theneedle binding processing with the staples S is carried out on a cornerof the paper Q or a plurality of positions in the width direction at therear end in the conveyance direction of the paper Q.

The first processing tray 11 is provided with a first conveyance section21 (refer to FIG. 5) which conveys the stapled paper bundle stacked onthe first processing tray 11 to the second processing tray 12. In astate in which there is no paper bundle stacked on the second processingtray 12, the paper bundle conveyed from the first processing tray 11 tothe second processing tray 12 is referred to as a first paper bundle B1.Further, in a state in which the first paper bundle B is stacked on thesecond processing tray 12, the paper bundle conveyed from the firstprocessing tray 11 to the second processing tray 12 is referred to as asecond paper bundle B2.

After conveying the first paper bundle B1 subjected to the staplingprocessing on the first paper tray 11 to the second processing tray 12,the post-processing apparatus 1 continues to stack the next paper Q onthe first processing tray 11, carry out stapling processing and thenconvey the second paper bundle B2 to the second processing tray 12.

Similar to the first processing tray 11, a paper placing surface 121 ofthe second processing tray 12 is also formed into an inclined surfacewhich is inclined upwards towards the front side of the conveyancedirection. The second processing tray 12 is arranged in such a mannerthat the paper placing surface 121 thereof can be lifted and loweredthrough a second processing tray lifting and lowering section 23 (referto FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 1, in a state in which there is no paperbundle stacked on the second processing tray 12, the paper placingsurface 121 of the second processing tray 12 is positioned at a standbyposition below the paper discharge end of the paper placing surface 111of the first processing tray 11. In addition, a paper bundle existencesensor 122 is arranged on the paper placing surface 121 of the secondprocessing tray 12 to detect whether or not the first paper bundle B1 isstacked. As shown in FIG. 3, the standby position is such a position atwhich the top surface of the stacked first paper bundle B1 is below thepaper placing surface 111 of the first processing tray 11.

The first paper bundle B1 stacked on the paper placing surface 121 ofthe second processing tray 12 slips off from the inclined paper placingsurface 121, and the rear end in the conveyance direction abuts againsta second end alignment surface 24 and stops.

When the first paper bundle B1 conveyed from the first processing tray11 is stacked on the paper placing surface 121 of the second processingtray 12, as shown in FIG. 3, the paper bundle gluing section 14 carriesout gluing processing on the upmost paper Q of the first paper bundleB1. Though the gluing position where glue G is adhered is correspondingto the needle binding position based on the stapling section 13, thegluing processing is carried out on a position which does not overlapwith the staple S. For example, in a case of carrying out needle bindingprocessing with the staple at one position at the corner of the firstpaper bundle B1, the gluing processing is carried out at the corner ofthe paper Q while the gluing position does not overlap with the positionof the staple.

The paper bundle gluing section 14 includes liquid, solid or tape-shapedglue. The paper bundle gluing section 14 held by a first movingmechanism 25 (refer to FIG. 5) moves to adhere the glue G on the surfaceof the paper Q. The first moving mechanism 25 retracts the paper bundlegluing section 14 to a retracting position so as not to interfere withthe conveyance of each of the first paper bundle B1 and the second paperbundle B2 from the first processing tray 11 to the second processingtray 12. Then the first moving mechanism 25 moves the paper bundlegluing section 14 from the retracting position to the gluing position ina case of carrying out gluing processing to adhere the glue G on theback surface of the upmost paper (the last page of the first paperbundle B1) of the first paper bundle B1.

The paper bundle gluing section 14 is shown in FIG. 2. The paper bundlegluing section 14 shown in FIG. 2 uses a pressure-sensitive transfertype adhesive tape (hereinafter, referred to as adhesive tape for short)141 as the glue. The adhesive tape 141 is wound on a feeding reel 142 ina roll shape, and the other end of the adhesive tape 141 is wound on awinding reel 143. The adhesive tape 141 is constituted by adhering abase material 145 serving as the glue to the single side of a roll film144 across an adhesive layer in a peelable manner. The base material145, which is a double-sided adhesive, is peeled off from the roll film144 at a transfer area where the adhesive is transferred to the adheredsurface.

The feeding reel 142 and the winding reel 143 are rotatably supported bya substrate 146, and the adhesive tape 141 is stretched by rollers 147and 148 arranged at the front end of the substrate 146. The lengthbetween the roller 147 and the roller 148 serves as the pressingtransfer area T; if the substrate 146 is pressed in a directionindicated by an arrow 200, the base material 145 of the adhesive tape141 is pressed against a transfer surface 201, and then the substrate146 is returned upwards, the base material 145 in the pressing transferarea T is transferred to the transfer surface 201. Further, if thesubstrate 146 is slide in a direction indicated by an arrow 202 in astate in which the base material 145 is pressed against the transfersurface 201 and then returned upwards, the base material 145 istransferred to the transfer surface 201 for a length equal to thesliding length.

In the present embodiment, the substrate 146 is arranged to be capableof moving upwards or downwards in an outer case 203. A spring member 204energizes the substrate 146 towards the middle and lower portion of thefigure with respect to the outer case 203. A first gear G1 is fixed onthe winding reel 143 in a coaxial manner, and a second gear G2 is fixedon the feeding reel 142 in a coaxial manner. The first gear G1 and thesecond gear G2 mesh with each other. Thus, when the adhesive tape 141 ispulled in the winding direction, the first gear G1 is rotatedanticlockwise, and the winding reel 143 is rotated clockwise togetherwith the second gear G2, in this way, the adhesive tape 141 is wound onthe winding reel 143.

A third gear G3 is arranged on the winding reel 143 through a one-wayclutch mechanism (not shown) in the manner of being coaxial with thefirst gear G1. A rack gear G4 is arranged on the inner surface of thecase 203. The third gear G3 meshes with the rack gear G4.

When the third gear G3 is rotated clockwise, the one-way clutch connectsthe third gear G3 with the winding reel 143, and the winding reel 143winds the adhesive tape 141 through the rotation force of the third gearG3.

On the contrary, when the winding reel 143 is rotated clockwise, theone-way clutch releases the connection between the third gear G3 and thewinding reel 143, and only the winding reel 143 is rotated in thewinding direction.

When the substrate 146 is pressed downwards under the spring force ofthe spring member 204 with respect to the outer case 203, the third gearG3 is rotated clockwise through the meshing with the rack gear G4, andin this way, the adhesive tape 141 is wound on the winding reel 143.That is, after the transfer of the base material 145, when the outercase 203 is moved upwards, the substrate 146 is pressed downwards underthe spring force of the spring member 204, and at the same time, theadhesive tape 141 is wound on the winding reel 143 for a given amount,and the base material 146 is positioned in the pressing transfer area T.

Further, when the paper bundle gluing section 14 is slide in thedirection indicated by the arrow 202 to carry out gluing processing,even if the rotation force in the winding direction is applied to thewinding reel 143, the winding reel 143 is not connected with the thirdgear G3 due to the action of the one-way clutch, thus, the winding reel143 can be rotated freely.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second paper bundle B2 of the first processingtray 11 is conveyed onto the first paper bundle B1. The secondprocessing tray 12 lowers the paper placing surface 121 through thesecond processing tray lifting and lowering section 23 to carry out aposition alignment so that the upmost paper Q of the second paper bundleB2 is at the same level with the paper placing surface 111 of the firstprocessing tray 11. In this state, the rear ends in the conveyancedirection of the first paper bundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2abut against the second end alignment surface 24 and the ends arealigned. In this state, the second paper bundle B2 is in contact withthe glue G of the first paper bundle B1 under its own weight.

As shown in FIG. 4, the paper bundle pressing section 16 contacts withthe upmost paper Q of the second paper bundle B2 and presses the secondpaper bundle B2 downwards. Similar to the paper bundle gluing section14, the paper bundle pressing section 16 is held by, for example, asecond moving mechanism 26 (not shown), and is retracted to a retractingposition by the second moving mechanism 26 so as not to interfere withthe conveyance of each of the first paper bundle B1 and the second paperbundle B2 from the first processing tray 11 to the second processingtray 12. The paper bundle pressing section 16 may generate the pressureforce using the force generated when the second moving mechanism 26moves downwards.

The lowermost paper Q of the second paper bundle B2 is pressed on theglue G of the first paper bundle B1, thus, the second paper bundle B2and the first paper bundle B1 are subjected to strong gluing processing,and in this way, the two stapled paper bundles are bound into one paperbundle (paper bundle B3).

The paper bundle B3 subjected to glue binding processing on the secondprocessing tray 12 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 15 througha second conveyance section 22 (refer to FIG. 5) arranged in the secondprocessing tray 12.

In the present embodiment, the first paper bundle B1 and the secondpaper bundle B2 are processed separately because the print instructionnumber (X) (that is, the number of the documents read by the ADF) islarger than a maximum number (N) indicating the maximum number of paperthat can be stapled by the stapling section 13 at one time.

It is assumed in the present embodiment that the relation between N andX meets the following condition: N<X≦2N; in a case in which X is an oddnumber, either of the number of paper of the first paper bundle B1 orthe number of paper of the second paper bundle B2 is one larger than theother; and in a case in which X is an even number, the paper is dividedinto two even halves. A division threshold value N serving as athreshold value for determining whether or not to divide the paperbundle into a plurality of paper bundles (for example, the first paperbundle and the second paper bundle) may be a value that can be changedby the user by taking the preset maximum processable number as the upperlimit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware constitution of thepost-processing apparatus 1.

The controller 101, the discharged paper number counter section 19, thepaper bundle existence sensor 122, the second processing tray liftingand lowering section 23, the ADF 102, the stapling section 13, the firstmoving mechanism 25, the second moving mechanism 26, the firstconveyance section 21 and the second conveyance section 22 are connectedwith each other through a bus line 50.

The controller 101 operates the ADF 102 and acquires the printinstruction number (X) from the scanner and the like. In a case ofprinting the printing data sent from a personal computer, the printinstruction number (X) is acquired from the page number in the printingdata. In a case in which the stapling processing based on thepost-processing apparatus 1 is instructed, the controller 101 staplesthe printed paper Q on the first processing tray 11 with the staplingsection 13.

The controller 101 determines whether or not it is necessary to carryout a dividing processing and calculates the number of paper of eachpaper bundle to be divided, according to the print instruction number(X) and the division threshold value (N).

The controller 101 includes a processor 130 including a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and a memory 140.

The memory 140, which is, for example, a semiconductor memory, includesan ROM (Read Only Memory) 141 for storing various control programs andan RAM (Random Access Memory) 142 for providing a temporary work areafor the processor 130. For example, the ROM 141 stores the divisionthreshold value N, a formula for dividing the number of paper of each ofthe first paper bundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2, and the like.

The post-processing carried out through the hardware constitution shownin FIG. 5 is described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 6.

The print instruction number (X) is acquired in ACT 1, and then ACT 2 istaken.

In ACT 2, the print instruction number (X) is compared with thethreshold value N of the post-processing apparatus, and in a case inwhich X>N, ACT 3 is taken, and in a case in which X≦N, ACT 11 is taken.In the present embodiment, it is exemplified that X and N meet thefollowing condition: N<X≦2N.

In ACT 3, to divide the printed paper Q into the first paper bundle B1and the second paper bundle B2, the printing numbers n (the printingnumber of the first paper bundle B1 is n1, the printing number of thesecond paper bundle B2 is n2) (n≦N) of the paper bundles are calculated,and then ACT 4 is taken.

In ACT 4, a print instruction is given, the printing processing isstarted, and then the printed paper Q is discharged from the imageforming apparatus 100 to the post-processing apparatus 1 (ACT 5), andthen ACT 6 is taken.

The number X′ of the discharged printed paper Q is counted by thedischarged paper number counter section 19, and it is determined whetheror not the number X′ reaches the set number n (n1) of the first paperbundle B1 in ACT 6, and if it does, ACT 7 is taken.

In ACT 7, the n1 sheets of paper Q stacked on the first processing tray11 are subjected to the needle binding processing by the staplingsection 13 to form the first paper bundle B1, and then ACT 8 is taken.

In ACT 8, it is determined whether or not there is a paper bundle placedon the second processing tray 12 based on the detection information ofthe paper bundle existence sensor 122. In a case in which there is apaper bundle, ACT 12 is taken, otherwise, ACT 9 is taken.

In ACT 9, the first paper bundle B1 is discharged to the secondprocessing tray 12, and then ACT 10 is taken.

In ACT 10, X′ is reset, and the printing paper number n compared in ACT6 is changed from n1 to n2, then the flow returns to ACT 5, and then ACT6 is taken. In ACT 6, the number X′ of the discharged printed paper Q iscounted by the discharged paper number counter section 19, and it isdetermined whether or not the number X′ reaches the set number n (n2) ofthe second paper bundle B2, and if it does, ACT 7 is taken. In ACT 7,the paper Q stacked on the first processing tray 11 are subjected to thestapling processing to form the second paper bundle B2 bound with thestaple S. In ACT 8, as the first paper bundle B1 is already placed onthe second processing tray 12, thus, ACT 12 is taken.

In ACT 12, the gluing processing is carried out on the first paperbundle B1 by the paper bundle gluing section 14, and then ACT 13 istaken.

In ACT 13, the second paper bundle B2 is discharged from the firstprocessing tray 11 to the second processing tray 12, and then ACT 14 istaken.

In ACT 14, the second processing tray 12 is lowered, and then ACT 15 istaken.

In ACT 15, the second paper bundle B2 is pressed against the first paperbundle B1 by the paper bundle pressing section 16, and the first paperbundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 are bound through the glue G,and then ACT 16 is taken.

In ACT 16, the paper bundle B3 subjected to the glue binding processingis discharged to the paper discharge tray 15, and then ACT 17 is taken.

In ACT 17, the second processing tray 12 is lifted up to the standbyposition, and then the present processing is terminated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in ACT 2 that X≦N, there is noneed to divide the printed paper bundle into a plurality of paperbundles, thus, in ACT 11, the paper Q stacked on the first processingtray 11 is subjected to the stapling processing, conveyed to the secondprocessing tray 12, and then discharged to the paper discharge tray 15,and then the present processing is terminated.

In addition, as a pressing section for applying pressure force to carryout glue binding on the paper bundle, the paper bundle pressing section16 presses the top surface of the second paper bundle B2 against thefirst paper bundle B1 and applies the pressure force to carry out gluebinding. However, the pressing section is not limited to the paperbundle pressing section 16. For example, the pressure force may beapplied from two sides in the vertical direction to the first paperbundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 between which the glue G isadhered; alternatively, a plate may be arranged above the second paperbundle B2, and the pressure force may be applied upwards from the lowersurface of the first paper bundle B1.

A Second Embodiment

The second embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

In the first embodiment, the first paper bundle B1 and the second paperbundle B2 are subjected to needle binding processing, and then the firstpaper bundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 are bound into one bundlethrough the glue binding processing. On the contrary, the secondembodiment is different from the first embodiment in the point whereeach page of the first paper bundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 issubjected to glue binding processing.

Different from the constitution shown in FIG. 1, a page gluing sectionand a page pressing section are arranged in the second embodimentinstead of the stapling section 13. The page gluing section isstructurally identical to the paper bundle gluing section 14, and thepage pressing section is structurally identical to the paper bundlepressing section 16.

Different from FIG. 5, a third moving mechanism 31 for moving the pagegluing section and a fourth moving mechanism 32 for moving the pagepressing section are newly arranged in FIG. 7 instead of the staplingsection 13. The third moving mechanism 31 and the fourth movingmechanism 32 are controlled by the controller 101.

In the second embodiment, the paper Q is fed to the first processingtray 11 one by one. The paper Q fed to the first processing tray 11 isplaced with the printed surface (a case of simplex printing) facingdownwards, and gluing processing is carried out on the back side of thepaper Q. The page gluing section carries out gluing processing on thecorner of the rear end in the conveyance direction of the paper Q, on aplurality of positions in the width direction, or on a belt-like areaalong the width direction, under the moving control of the third movingmechanism 31.

When the next paper Q is placed on the paper Q adhered with the glue G,the page pressing section contacts with and presses the upmost paper Q.The page pressing section presses the position corresponding to thegluing section to adhere the paper Q to the glue G under the movingcontrol of the fourth moving mechanism 32.

The post-processing carried out in the second embodiment is describedwith reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8.

In ACT 21, the print instruction number (X) is acquired, and then ACT 22is taken.

In ACT 22, the print instruction number (X) is compared with thethreshold value N of the post-processing apparatus, and in a case inwhich X>N, ACT 23 is taken, and in a case in which X≦N, ACT 33 is taken.In the present embodiment, it is exemplified that X and N meet thefollowing condition: N<X2N.

In ACT 23, to divide the printed paper Q into the first paper bundle B1and the second paper bundle B2, the printing numbers n (the printingnumber of the first paper bundle B1 is n1, the printing number of thesecond paper bundle B2 is n2) (n≦N) of the paper bundles are calculated,and then ACT 24 is taken.

In ACT 24, a print instruction is given, the printing processing isstarted, and then the printed paper Q is discharged from the imageforming apparatus 100 to the post-processing apparatus 1 (ACT 25), andthen ACT 26 is taken.

In ACT 26, the third moving mechanism 31 is controlled to carry outgluing processing on a given position of the paper Q placed on the firstprocessing tray 11 with the page gluing section, and then ACT 27 istaken.

In ACT 27, the next paper Q is discharged and placed on the paper Qsubjected to the page gluing processing, and then ACT 28 is taken.

In ACT 28, the fourth moving mechanism 32 is controlled to carry outpressing processing for the glue binding with the page pressing section,and then ACT 29 is taken.

In ACT 29, the number X′ of the discharged printed paper Q is counted bythe discharged paper number counter section 19, and the glue bindingprocessing in ACT 25-ACT 28 is executed repeatedly until the number X′reaches the set number n (n1) of the first paper bundle B1, and then ACT30 is taken. That is, glue binding processing is carried out on the n1sheets of paper Q stacked on the first processing tray 11 to form thefirst paper bundle B1, and then ACT 30 is taken.

In ACT 30, it is determined whether or not the first paper bundle B1 isplaced on the second processing tray 12 based on the detectioninformation of the paper bundle existence sensor 122. In a case in whichthe first paper bundle B1 is placed on the second processing tray 12,ACT 38 is taken, otherwise, ACT 31 is taken.

In ACT 31, the first paper bundle B1 is discharged to the secondprocessing tray 12, and then ACT 32 is taken.

In ACT 32, X′ is reset, and the printing paper number n compared in ACT29 is changed from n1 to n2, then the flow returns to ACT 25, and thenACT 26 is taken to carry out glue binding processing on the second paperbundle B2. To form the second paper bundle B2 through glue bindingprocessing, the processing in ACT 25-ACT 29 is executed until thebinding number reaches n2, and then ACT 30 is taken.

In ACT 30, as the first paper bundle B1 is already placed on the secondprocessing tray 12, thus, ACT 38 is taken.

In ACT 38, the gluing processing is carried out on the first paperbundle B1 by the paper bundle gluing section 14, and then ACT 39 istaken.

In ACT 39, the second paper bundle B2 is discharged from the firstprocessing tray 11 to the second processing tray 12, and then ACT 40 istaken.

In ACT 40, the second processing tray 12 is lowered, and then ACT 41 istaken.

In ACT 41, the second paper bundle B2 is pressed against the first paperbundle B1 by the paper bundle pressing section 16, and the first paperbundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 are bound through the glue G,and then ACT 42 is taken.

In ACT 42, the paper bundle B3 subjected to the glue binding processingis discharged to the paper discharge tray 15, and then ACT 43 is taken.

In ACT 43, the second processing tray 12 is lifted up to the standbyposition, and then the present processing is terminated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in ACT 22 that X≦N, there is noneed to divide the printed paper bundle, thus, in ACT 33, the printinstruction is given, and in ACT 34-ACT 37, the gluing processing iscarried out on each paper Q discharged one by one to the firstprocessing tray 11, and when the counted number reaches the printinstruction number, the paper Q is conveyed to the second processingtray 12 and then discharged to the paper discharge tray 15, and then thepresent processing is terminated.

In accordance with the second embodiment, the binding processing carriedout on the first paper bundle B1 and the second paper bundle B2 on thefirst processing tray 11 is the glue binding processing in which nostaple is used. Further, the binding processing carried out on thesecond processing tray 12 for binding the first paper bundle B1 and thesecond paper bundle B2 together is also the glue binding processing inwhich no staple is used. In this way, a paper bundle with no staple canbe obtained.

The “glue” in the present embodiment is not intended to be limited tosolid type. For example, the glue may be a semi-solid type such as a geltype and the like, a liquid type or gaseous type. That is, any materialis applicable as long as it can adhere paper to paper through glue.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended tocover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A post-processing apparatus comprising: a controlsection configured to divide the number of paper subjected to bindingprocess into a plurality of groups; a paper binding section configuredto create a first paper bundle by binding papers for one group; a gluingsection configured to carry out gluing processing at the upmost paper ofthe respective first paper bundles from the first paper bundle of thefirst group to the first paper bundle of the second to the last group;and a pressing section configured to create a second bundle by pressingthe first paper bundles to glue bind the first paper bundles after thegluing processing by the gluing section.
 2. The post-processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control section acquires thenumber of paper subjected to binding process, and divides the acquiredpaper number into a plurality of groups, and create the second bundle byglue binding the first paper bundles created for each group in a case inwhich the acquired paper number is larger than a preset threshold value,the control section binds the papers of the acquired paper number by thepaper binding section in a case in which the acquired paper number isnot larger than the preset threshold value.
 3. The post-processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper binding section is astapling section for carrying out needle binding processing with astaple.
 4. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe paper binding section is a page gluing section for coating glue oneach paper.
 5. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the control section feeds paper one by one to the paper bindingsection and creates the first paper bundle by the paper binding sectionwhenever the number of sheets fed to the paper binding section reachespredetermined number.
 6. A post-processing method for binding fed paper,comprising: dividing the number of paper subjected to binding processinto a plurality of groups; creating a first paper bundle by bindingpapers for one group into one bundle; carrying out gluing processing atthe upmost paper of the respective first paper bundles from the firstpaper bundle of the first group to the first paper bundle of the secondto the last group; and creating a second bundle by pressing the firstpaper bundles to glue bind the first paper bundles after the gluingprocessing.
 7. The post-processing method according to claim 6, whereinthe first paper bundle is bound through needle binding with a staple. 8.The post-processing method according to claim 6, wherein the first paperbundle is bound by coating glue on each paper.
 9. The post-processingmethod according to claim 7, wherein feeding paper one by one andcreating the first paper bundle whenever the number of sheets fedreaches predetermined number.